Karnataka High Court stays order allowing free access through Somanahalli toll plaza for local residents’ vehicles

A Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday stayed the verdict of a single judge, who had directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to issue free resident passes, without levy of any toll or user fee, to the local residents, living in nearby areas, for daily unrestricted use of the Somanahlli toll plaza on Bengaluru-Kanakapura stretch of National Highway (NH)-209.

The Bench, comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha, passed the interim order on an appeal filed by the NHAI, challenging the January 28 judgment of the single judge. The stay order would be in force till April 23, the next date of hearing on the appeal.

What NHAI says

During the hearing, the counsel for the NHAI said that the toll plaza was already operational, and the local residents were refusing to pay the toll citing the single judge’s order. Also, the counsel for the NHAI cited apex court’s judgments on collection of user fee at toll plazas situated in municipal limits.

The single judge had declared that operationalising a plaza within 10 km from municipal limits is contrary to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, even though the toll plaza was outside municipal limits when it was approved.

Deadline for passes

Also, the single judge had given 30 days to the NHAI to issue passes for people residing in the nearby areas on verification of their residency while making it clear that user fee collection should be stopped and the Somanahalli toll paza should be shifted beyond 10 km from city limits if the NHAI failed to complete process of issuance of free passes within 30 days.

The single judge, while rejecting the NHAI’s argument that local residents could take monthly pass for nominal fee for their cars as there was anyway no toll was levied on two-wheelers, three-wheelers, tractors, and animal-drawn vehicles, had said that use of cars by locals can no more be treated as a luxury by pointing out that people nowadays use cars to access essential services on a daily basis.